Currency of the Known World
Currency Westeros Seven Kingdoms Coins are used in the Seven Kingdoms, chiefly Gold Dragons, Silver Stags and Copper Stars and Pennies. Gold Dragons are used mostly used by rich merchants and noble lords and ladies, while smallfolk tend to exchange copper and silver coins and barter is common in rural areas among the smallfolk and up along the Wall. The current currency was established shortly after the unification of the Seven Kingdoms following the War of Conquest and was used through the whole Targaryen rule and continued after Robert's Rebellion. The king's coinage is one of the most visible manifestations of royal authority. The minting of the coins, exchange rates, and like matters are overseen by the Master of Coin. Gold Dragons bear the face of the king in whose time they were minted in, as well as his name.2 During the rule of House Targaryen the reverse bore the three-headed dragon. Although the Silver Stags are known for the stag they bear, they were in use during the time of the The Hedge Knight, eighty years before Robert Baratheon, whose sigil was a stag, came to power. Copper Pennies usually bore the Seven-Pointed Star associated with the Faith of the Seven. Specific values of each of the coins are not mentioned directly in the books and are based on a semi canon source, the A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying game by Green Ronin. Their value in ascending order: Copper Coins Penny and Halfpenny. Half Groat, 2 pennies. Groat, 4 pennies. Star, 8 pennies. Silver Coins Stag, 7 stars or 56 pennies Moon, 49 stars or 392 pennies Gold Coins Dragons, 30 Moons, 210 Stags or 11,760 pennies. The coins most commonly encountered are: Half-Pennies, Pennies, Stars, Stags and Dragons; rarely does anyone have the change on levels between. Pre-Conquest currency There are older coins, still in use from before the War of Conquest. In A Feast for Crows we learn of gold coins of the Kingdom of the Reach, which were known as 'hands', they feature the hand-shaped sigil of House Gardener on one side and the face of a king on the other, with each coin roughly half the value of a golden dragon. Iron Islands The Ironborn of the Iron Islands follow their old ways, they can trade only what has been taken by force. Beyond the Wall The lands north of The Wall are harsh lands, the Free Folk inhabiting those lands usually barter for goods amongst themselves based upon the needs of the parties involved. Free Folk have been known to trade with the Night's Watch rangers and smugglers from the Free Cities and perhaps Westeros as well, exchanging goods in the little coves on the eastern coast along the Shivering Sea. They take steel weapons and armor in return for furs, ivory, amber, and obsidian and have little use for coins. Essos Dothraki The Dothraki, who control much of the Essos mainland, are said to "not believe in money". They do not engage in trade, instead they have a sort of honour system where they accept gifts and then give gifts in return, but they do so in their own time. Slaver bay/Free cities As their name implies, the city states of Slaver's Bay main trade are slaves. a practice derived more than five thousand years ago from the Ghiscari Empire and the Valyrian Freehold which succeeded it. Slaves are bred and trained to perform all the work of daily life. Slaver's Bay and many of the Free cities economy is based on this slave labor. It can be said that slaves are used as a form of currency in Slaver's Bay and other cities. Essos major port cities are trade hubs connecting the east and west, with traders introducing various coinage. Known coins in use are: Honors are gold coins which were used in Qarth and Volantis. They are no bigger then a Seven Kingdoms penny, bearing a crown on one face and death's head on the other. Gold Honors are used in Meereen. In Lys, coins are oval in shape and have a naked woman stamped on them. In Braavos there are square iron coins. In Volantis the economy is heavily reliant upon slave trade.